Rhetoric, the study of persuasive speech and writing, has been important since ancient Greece. Modern programs vary in focus, from theory to public communication, and can prepare students for academia, teaching, or careers in public relations and speech writing.
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the study of rhetoric, or persuasive speech and writing, has been central to a comprehensive education. At modern American universities, rhetoric programs are usually contained within the English or communications department. The types of courses offered in rhetoric programs vary by undergraduate or graduate level, as well as by emphasis on teaching, theory, or public communication.
The study of rhetoric originally referred to formal speech and, as such, has found a natural home among other courses in communication and public speaking. Although in modern terms rhetoric mainly refers to the actual words spoken, Aristotle’s five canons of rhetoric – invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery – focus on verbal content and the presentation of content. Other rhetoric programs focus more on specifically verbal aspects of communication, including written communication, making it a subset of the English department.
Rhetoric programs also vary in the types of careers they are geared towards. Some approaches to rhetoric can prepare someone to work in academia by focusing on rhetorical theory and the ways in which rhetoric has been used throughout history. They can contain heavy analysis of historical and current rhetoric.
Other rhetoric programs are more focused on pedagogy or teaching. These programs are found more in English departments than in communications departments. Since the ability to use rhetoric to write and speak persuasively is a necessary skill in virtually any profession, most colleges require at least one course in composition. These courses are often taught by any available member of the English department, including those whose major is really literature and not composition, although someone with a postgraduate degree in rhetoric and composition would be an ideal candidate to teach this course.
Those seeking a career in public communication can also benefit from studying rhetoric. Programs with this emphasis can offer courses in public relations and speech writing, as well as rhetorical theory. These programs can prepare a person for a career as a political writer, for example.
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